I ride a skate banana with burton missions (pretty stiff bindings). I'm 5'7, 135lb. The skate banana is 149cm. The binding position is at the widest allowable. Angle is at 13/-13..

anyways...I can't ollie. I can get air by jumping up with both legs but I know that's not the proper way. When I try to flex the board and pop off the tail, I just can't hold the energy on my back leg. I can't flex the board enough for it to spring me into a pop....

Is this just a strength thing? What I really want to do is just pop and do a front side 180 on the flats, transitioning or off a little bump or whatever.

Narrow your stance, that's probably like 24" or more which is ridiculous given you are 5'7". I am the same height and I rock about a 22.5" which is on the wider side.

The way you describe your ollie sounds like you are trying to do it in discrete steps; it sounds like you are trying to press the tail and pogo stick off it. Ollie it like a skateboard, get low, start to pop up and as you start to get light, snap space right outside the binding and let it boost you up.